Winter Weather Woes

Anyone who works outside in winter needs to take precautions from the dangers of freezing temperatures. Numerous occupations are affected, beyond the obvious ones like construction, logging and snow cleanup. Mail deliverers, inspectors of homes and office buildings, utility workers, package delivery people, surveyors, exterminators and garbage collectors are just a few who need to be aware of the harmful effects of low temperatures.

Cold stress, the effect of cold temperatures on the human body, can be prevented with education. Having each worker take a safety management course arms him with the knowledge he needs to avoid the conditions that cause trench foot at above freezing temperatures, and frostbite and hypothermia at below freezing.

Cold stress is felt in all areas of the country. It may need to be below zero to affect New Englanders, but if Georgia suddenly gets hit with 32 degree F temperatures, it’s enough to cause health problems. Factors causing cold stress problems or making them worse include:

dampness or getting clothes wet

clothes that don’t offer the right protection

exhaustion, made worse by the cold weather

poor physical condition

health problems like high blood pressure and diabetes

The wind adds another layer of stress to the body. When wind speed increases (called the wind chill factor), it makes the temperature feel colder. The body loses heat much more rapidly than if there is very little wind. Simply sweating can also lead to cold stress, the dampness and wetness causing heat to leave the body. When the wind chill rises, the harmful effects of sweating rise too.

Trench Foot

Cold stress shows itself in an array of illnesses. One of them is trench foot, caused by exposing the body to ongoing wet and cold. The name comes from World War I, fought mainly by soldiers confined in all weathers to trenches filled with water and mud. Trench foot was rampant.

Though feet that are dry will lose heat in cold weather, when feet get wet that same process happens an astounding 25 times faster. Trench foot develops at temperatures above freezing. In fact, it can happen in conditions as high as 60 degrees F.

The symptoms include:

skin getting progressively redder

tingling feeling

pain

swelling

cramps

numbness

blisters

Frostbite

Frostbite, which occurs when the temperature is below freezing, causes permanent damage. Frostbitten toes often need to be amputated. People with circulation problems, like diabetics, suffer the most. Anyone not properly dressed for the cold can get frostbite.

The symptoms include:

red skin, which changes to gray or white patches on toes and fingers, on the nose and the ear lobes

tingling

aching

loss of feeling

blisters

Hypothermia

When a worker is exposed to cold temperatures for a long period of time, his stored energy is used up, resulting in hypothermia. This is the most dangerous form of cold stress. The body’s temperature falls to less than 95 degrees F, from a normal level of 98.6.

This dangerous state usually happens at freezing temperatures. Surprisingly it also occurs above 40 degrees F if the body becomes sufficiently chilled from falling into cold water or the prolonged effects of rain or even sweat.

The symptoms include:

shivering

loss of coordination

slow breathing

confusion

slurred speech

unconsciousness

Preventing Cold Stress

The ways to avoid health problems from cold stress are educating workers with a safety management course, providing physical protection and using common sense. Mandatory completion of a safety management course helps workers identify weather conditions that lead to stress.

Management can make an outdoor worksite safer by following these precautions:

scheduling short breaks in warm, dry spots, long enough for the body to efficiently warm up

planning work times that take advantage of the warmest parts of the day

insisting on the buddy system so workers can keep an eye on each other

making warm, sweet beverages available

providing devices like radiant heaters

requiring each worker to wear proper clothing

Everyone working outside should be able to list the symptoms of cold stress and know how to deal with them, whether in themselves or in co-workers. And every worker regularly spending time outside in winter needs to know how to dress for weather conditions.

~Mary Hannick

LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? Just complete the subscription form (below or top right of our home page) and we’ll send each issue of Recordable INSIGHTSNewsletter to your inbox for free! Instructional videos, audio clips, articles, e-books, and other resources on how to better lead a safety culture delivered directly to your Inbox each issue!

NOTE:Please use a company domain to subscribe to the Recordable INSIGHTS newsletter. Hotmail, Yahoo, Live, and other generic domains may not allow subscription completion.

ALSO, be sure to check your Inbox for the Confirmation email after subscribing. You must click the Confirm button in that email to complete your subscription. Subscription requests that are not confirmed are purged from our system. [mailpress] Be sure to see our other Vlog (Video Blog) entries on our safetyBUILT-IN YouTube Channel

Like this:

Related

About the Author

safetyBUILT-IN is the safety-leadership learning and development division of SCInc. We believe sustainable safety performance is best achieved through a core-values based safety culture, and that culture must be driven by leadership. Our safety-leadership programs are competency-based, and focused on performance outcomes. We believe in building capability and ownership into our client organizations—as well as sustainability into our programs—so that our clients can continue running those programs long after we’re out of the picture. Our emphasis is on building better leadership presence, better leadership communication and better leadership coaching by first building relationships of trust with people and learning how to engage them on the level of their core values and beliefs.

“Strong and clear leadership course that brings practical and effective methods to identify opportunities, resolve them, coach, and drive results. Clear, meaningful subject matter, and fantastic materials. Love the ‘do’ focus of the course and the ongoing feedback–and the facilitator actually practices the methods during the course! Informs the mind, but superbly connects to the… Read more ““One of the Best Experiences …””

“The safetyBUILT-IN team provided our employees with a perspective on how to view safety such that they want to be involved in leading safety in the organization. The program gave us simple, understandable tools and techniques for leading and coaching not only safety but every other discipline we deal with in the work environment. I… Read more ““Changed Our Mindset About Safety””

“Outstanding workshop! It was far more than a safety meeting. This will have an impact on our operation. I am anxious to send my next level of management at the next opportunity.” Joe Gednalske, Director of Product Development

“Being a manager of safety comes with many challenges. I have learned over time that the traditional style of safety compliance training, such as videos, generic presentations, etc., may not be totally effective for ensuring our employees understand the pertinent information presented, and how to utilize that information as part of their every day life.… Read more ““Gives Employees a New Way of Thinking …””

“Facilitator was one of the best, if not the best presenter and speaker that I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. I believe this training is important and pertinent enough to allocate the appropriate needed expenditures to ensure that ALL SUPERVISORS AND LEAD PEOPLE from every location in the pipeline attend. I was… Read more ““All Leaders Need to Attend””

“I have attended other safety workshops in the past, but none has ever laid out the skills building and leadership qualities like this one. I was fully engaged the entire two days. I can’t wait to practice these skills.” Phil Laudolff | General Mills

“This was one of the best leadership workshops that I’ve been to in my career (simple and effective tools)! It will help drive safety as a core value. I think it will really make people better leaders as a whole. That will drive our overall business in the right direction, starting with safety.” Shawn Myers,… Read more ““One of the Best Leadership Workshops””

“What stood out to me the most was that coaching based on core values is more effective than citing compliance to policies. Every supervisor and manager should attend!” Pat Hodgson, SHE Manager | BAE Systems

In my 25 years of EHS work, I have never seen so much positive response from a Safety program. Typical responses identify the fact that this is so much more than Safety Training – it is Leadership training that will help them in all aspects of their employee engagement efforts. I believe, with continued leadership… Read more ““Transformational””

Archives

Categories

“Strong and clear leadership course that brings practical and effective methods to identify opportunities, resolve them, coach, and drive results. Clear, meaningful subject matter, and fantastic materials. Love the ‘do’ focus of the course and the ongoing feedback–and the facilitator actually practices the methods during the course! Informs the mind, but superbly connects to the… Read more ““One of the Best Experiences …””

“What stood out to me the most was that coaching based on core values is more effective than citing compliance to policies. Every supervisor and manager should attend!” Pat Hodgson, SHE Manager | BAE Systems

“Outstanding workshop! It was far more than a safety meeting. This will have an impact on our operation. I am anxious to send my next level of management at the next opportunity.” Joe Gednalske, Director of Product Development

“The safetyBUILT-IN team provided our employees with a perspective on how to view safety such that they want to be involved in leading safety in the organization. The program gave us simple, understandable tools and techniques for leading and coaching not only safety but every other discipline we deal with in the work environment. I… Read more ““Changed Our Mindset About Safety””

“I have attended other safety workshops in the past, but none has ever laid out the skills building and leadership qualities like this one. I was fully engaged the entire two days. I can’t wait to practice these skills.” Phil Laudolff | General Mills

In my 25 years of EHS work, I have never seen so much positive response from a Safety program. Typical responses identify the fact that this is so much more than Safety Training – it is Leadership training that will help them in all aspects of their employee engagement efforts. I believe, with continued leadership… Read more ““Transformational””

“This was one of the best leadership workshops that I’ve been to in my career (simple and effective tools)! It will help drive safety as a core value. I think it will really make people better leaders as a whole. That will drive our overall business in the right direction, starting with safety.” Shawn Myers,… Read more ““One of the Best Leadership Workshops””

“Being a manager of safety comes with many challenges. I have learned over time that the traditional style of safety compliance training, such as videos, generic presentations, etc., may not be totally effective for ensuring our employees understand the pertinent information presented, and how to utilize that information as part of their every day life.… Read more ““Gives Employees a New Way of Thinking …””

“Facilitator was one of the best, if not the best presenter and speaker that I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. I believe this training is important and pertinent enough to allocate the appropriate needed expenditures to ensure that ALL SUPERVISORS AND LEAD PEOPLE from every location in the pipeline attend. I was… Read more ““All Leaders Need to Attend””